Cybertruck range extender battery price set at $15,000 for a 130-mile drive

Tesla started sending invitations to some anointed Cybertruck reservation holders with early numbers in the queue, asking them if they'd like to configure an exclusive Cybertruck Foundation Series. This top trim costs $119,990, yet comes with many freebies and options, including a Full Self-Driving Beta "capability."

While waxing poetic about the exclusive laser-etched Foundation Series badging, or the new Powershare Mobile Connector and Home Backup system that comes with the package, Tesla has disclosed the last unknown Cybertruck accessory cost, that of its range extender.

Cybertruck Foundation Series range extender accessory battery price

The so-called Cybertruck range extender is simply an optional 50 kWh battery pack that can be mounted behind the cabin, taking about a third of the truck's bed and looking like a big tool or storage box. It adds 130 miles of range to the dual-motor Cybertruck for a total of "470+ miles," or close to the 500-mile Cybertruck that Tesla promised. It is a paid option that requires installation, but these kinds of battery packs don't come cheap.

Tesla has set the 50 kWh Cybertruck range extender battery price at $15,000, according to the post of one Foundation Series Cybertruck invitee which has subsequently been taken down. This is a grand cheaper than the leaked Cybertruck range extender price of $16,000 that was dug out from Tesla's Cybertruck accessory website code.

It is not clear if the official $15,000 range extender price when listed as an option for the Foundation Series trim is with some sort of a discount, or if that will indeed be the tag going forward. In any case, that price amounts to about $115 per extra mile of range on the Cybertruck, so Elon Musk rightfully remarked that it is only for those Cybertruck owners who need the extra battery for "very long trips or towing heavy things up mountains."

Thus, instead of installing a huge expensive battery in the Cybertruck, the optional range extender concept allowed Tesla to keep the midrange dual-motor Cybertruck price just below the government's $80,000 tax credit eligibility threshold, and still offer something close to the promised 500-mile range on a charge.

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